Some Things Never Change
by InsoWisco
Summary: Take a look inside the romance between 2 Shadowhunters. Clary Fray is a Shadowhunter in training, and Jace Wayland is a well-known warrior in the shadowhunting world. They're in love, things get complicated and Jace leaves for a year to Idris to train new shadowhunters. Clary is no longer the girl he left behind, and they don't know what is going to happen from here.
1. Chapter 1: Done Date

**A.N.: I do not own the characters of the Mortal Instruments(Cassandra Clare). There is definitely going to be some Lemon chapters within this story, some more explicit than others.**

 **Chapter 1: Done Date**

"I just thought you would want to know before he shows up at the breakfast table," Isabelle said, carefully looking at Clary through her reflection on her vanity.

Clary sat with her legs crossed, silent on Izzy's soft bed, staring off out the window as the sun was beginning to set in New York, giving the room a golden glow. Gold had become one of her least-liked colors as it brought about more pain than she was prepared to feel. She had gotten so good at hiding her feelings from everyone, keeping a cold demeanor. Izzy, however, had been the one person at the Institute that could see through her façade.

The two girls had become very close since they were left behind at the Institute. They trained and studied for hours on end, relying on each other to bear the brunt of the pain and loneliness the other felt. Jace had left Clary behind, broken, and confused. Simon had left Isabelle to travel to seek out other daylighters to find out more about what that means for his life.

"Clary?..."

She snapped her head up to return Izzy's concerned gaze, her red curls bouncing down her back. "Thanks for the warning Iz, but I hardly have the motivation to think about him anymore. I put those feelings to bed a long time ago, all I have left for him is indifference. Jace Herondale is just another co-worker now" she shrugged her shoulders slightly and tipped her head to the side, giving her most believable 'I-don't-care' expression.

"Uh-huh," Izzy said, less than convinced as she returned to her process of applying the perfect pout with her favorite burnt-berry colored lipstick. "Well, Jace and Alec will be back tomorrow night. I hope they will be up for a hunt, we have finally gotten a location on those demons that have been killing mundanes and taking their eyes" Izzy said with a shiver at the thought.

"I have never known Jace to turn down a hunt.." Clary trailed off, returning to her own thoughts and the sunset out the window. _Though I'm not sure I ever knew him at all..._

"Awesome," Izzy popped her lips and jumped up to look at Clary, "we can debut the new-and-improved Clary to the boys."

Jace had left a year ago to Idris to help train a new wave of 'gifted' shadow hunters, taking his trusted parabatai along to help. Clary vowed to never look back on that day again...

 **-1 year ago-**

Clary and Jace had been dating for 6 months now. He was the strong protector, and she was his heart. Living only 2 doors away at the Institute, they spent every moment they could together, every day. She was still not very far into her training, but she was improving steadily, she no longer squealed and cringed when someone lunged at her. She tried so hard everyday to make her man proud. She never felt she was good enough to be with him, she wasn't anything special. She was self-conscious, unsure of her body, unsure of her abilities of a shadowhunter, to name a few. Why a golden-god would ever want to be with her was beyond reason in her mind. But here he was, holding her hand, walking through the hall of the Institute after the most wonderful evening together, being a normal couple eating dinner at Taki's and going to the movies.

"I just don't get it," Jace said frowning, "Why did she choose the nerdy guy? I mean, he didn't have anything going for him, he was short and pudgy, and did nothing but play video games, and she was a smokin' hot beauty queen-type. It doesn't make any sense!" He raised his hands to the sky looking down at his girlfriend for clarity.

Clary let out a snicker. "It's because he saw her true-self, what was beneath all of the superficial bull. I think he was sweet." she blushed.

"Well, I would have picked the ripped jock," Jace side-eyed Clary.

"Shocker," Clary mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jace asked, a slightly shocked look crossing his face, with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Well of course you would pick someone just like yourself. He was a gorgeous, self-centered ass, and well " Clary's hand motioned in Jace's direction, a subtle smirk easing its way across her lips.

"Um-yeah, why wouldn't you pick perfection!" he gleamed back at her. "You sure did." He winked at her.

With a sigh, she turned towards him standing up onto her tippy-toes to place a soft, loving kiss on his lips. "I sure did."  
She pulled away, looking up into her loving boyfriends eyes, "I had a nice night."

Jace ran his tongue across his lips, tasting her bubblegum lip gloss. "You know it doesn't have to end yet." His voice husky, his eyes smoldering.  
Clary's breath hitched, "Well what did you have in mind?"

Jace closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting them on her lower back. He leaned in, his cheek grazing her cheek, whispered in her ear "Come to my room and find out." A shiver crept down her spine as his breath tickled her ear. She let out a gentle sigh. Being this close to him, having him touch her so gently, with so much need, drove her crazy and lit a fire deep inside her like no other boy had before. She pulled away from him slightly in order to give an answer, when she did her body jolted back towards Jace's, and she gave in to the overwhelming need to kiss him again. Their lips met and the flame grew into a sudden inferno. In an instant, they became a knot of lips, and limbs, and love, entangled and joined together by passion for one another.

Jace was the one to finally break apart their kiss, "I'll take that as a yes!" he said huskily, looking down into her bright green eyes, hunger burning through his body. He took her hand again and they continued down the hall towards his room. Clary, suddenly felt another knot in her stomach. Was she about to do this? Was she finally going to give herself to him? Would she be any good? Would he still love her if she wasn't? Without a second thought, she wiped away all of those thoughts because she knew deep down that she was his world and he was hers. _I really need to work on my self-confidence... and give Jace more credit_ , she thought to herself, shaking her head slightly.

They reached his room, where he opened the large wooden door gesturing for Clary to enter first. She walked past him, looking up at him through her lashes with a flirtatious grin. He watched her body as she walked past him, the sultry sway of her small hips in his favorite skin-tight jeans, the secret body that was hidden beneath her loose-fitting t-shirt, if only she knew what looking at her did to him, but she is about to find out. He followed into the room behind her, locking his door before turning to Clary, his own grin crooked grin creeping across his face. She was standing in the middle of his room, slowly gazing around at the neat simplicity of it. Plain white walls, an impeccably organized rack of spotless weapons shining against one wall, dark blue drapes billowing jn the wind of his open windows, his extra boots cleaned and lined up along the floorboards beneath the windows. When her eyes reached the bed, Jace's bed, a blush crept up onto her cheeks, which did not go unnoticed by Jace as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, nuzzling his nose into her firey hair. Breathing in Clary, his Clary.

Turning to face him, she wrapped her arms up around his neck, running her fingers through his soft, golden hair. "So this plan of yours, what part do I play in it?" she asked coyly.

"The most important part," he smirked. "But I would rather show you than tell you." Before she could respond, he smashed his mouth onto hers, willing her to feel everything he felt for her and wanted from her. She gasped against his lips from the sudden harsh contact. He took her bottom lip gently between his teeth before he ran his tongue along her lips, begging for permission. She opened her mouth to him, taking his tongue deep into her mouth and hers into his. Never before had their kissing felt this way. So deep and feral, it caused waves of heat to crash through her body. Everywhere his hands crossed her body would begin a new wave of need. She needed to be with him, in the most intimate way possible.

Untangling his fingers from her hair, Jace reached his hands to the bottom of her red t-shirt, curling his fingers underneath the hem, and began to slowly lift it up her torso, his knuckles gently grazing her skin. She shivered from the tingling feeling, her breath trembling. She raised her hands above her head long enough for him to pull it off of her before her own hands darted for the hem of his black skin-tight shirt, tearing it up over his head as fast as she could, revealing an endless amount of rippling muscles. She ran her hands down his jaw line to his dipped collarbones that lead down to his firm, bulging pecs. She ran her finger down the center ridge of his 8-pack abs, swirled around his belly button until she reached a small trail of soft body hair that lead down to his manhood. She then reached her hands to her own jeans, but was stopped by Jace's hands over hers. "Let me," he whispered. She placed her hands onto his hard, round shoulders as he knelt down and unbuttoned her jeans, slowly running them down her legs, making every single downy-hair on her legs stand on end. Clary closed her eyes and sighed at the feel of his hands touching her sensitive skin.

She stood there in her plain cotton bikini panties and light pink cotton bra as Jace stood up, placing his hands on her waist and taking in her entire body with a undies-scorching look in his eyes. He let out a shaky breath, "Your skin is so light and perfect," he said. In a bold move, she took a hold the button to his black jeans, looking up into his eyes as she undid the button and slowly zipped down his fly. She looked down and gasped as his newly freed member straining tightly against his boxer-briefs, earning a crooked grin from Jace. He pressed his fingers on the center of her stomach and gently backed her to the edge of his bed, never breaking eye contact. She slowly sat down and he eased her onto the bed, with a hand in the small of her back, kneeling down between her knees.

"You're the most beautiful angel in the world Clary," he said so quietly, she almost didn't hear him. She reached her hands up into his hair once more, streaming her fingers through it. As she stared into his soul-piercing eyes, she knew she was ready to give herself to the only man she knew loved her more than himself. With that, she clenched a fistful of his hair between her fingers and drew his mouth down to her own, tongues swirling together with a fevered passion. She moved her hands up under his arms and over his shoulders, running them down his long, lean back until they rested on the dimples just above his underwear hem, feeling every one of his firm muscles respond to her touch.

She pressed her hips up into his to show him that she was ready, relishing in the feel of his hard member pressed against her throbbing core. He gasped and pulled up from his elbows, placing a hand on each side of her head. He was panting hard, his hair fell over his eyes, and he was looking at her in the strangest way, she couldn't quite read his expression, but it didn't fit the current situation. The space between them was agonizing. She brought her hand up and gently placed it onto his cheek. "What is it Jace?" she asked, the concern apparent in her voice. He continued to stare into her eyes, his breath still ragged, the same unreadable expression on his face.

Then he broke eye contact, looking down and away from her. "I can't do this to you," he whispered. She hadn't even processed what he said before he was out of his room with his pants in his hands heading down the hallway away from her. Clary sat there on his soft, velvety bed, arms draped across her nearly nude body, eyes wide and mouth agape, in the silence of his bedroom.

 **Follow Up Notes: Leave a review and let me know what you think. Be kind as this is my first multi-chapter FF-Lemon.**


	2. Chapter 2: Meanwhile in Idris

The lush, green fields came into view as Jace sprinted toward the horizon atop the mountain. His bare chest gleamed as sweat dripped down his muscular torso. He doubled over, letting the sweat trickle through the golden locks that clung to his forehead as he caught his breath. The wind swept over him, cooling his body as he felt his heart-rate begin to slow. He stood up, stetching his neck to the side, rolling his shoulders back and shaking out his hands, he began to walk toward the edge of the cliff that stood at the opposite end of the valley from Alicante.  
Jace loved this cliffside. He ran here every chance he got between training, eating, and sleeping, which consumed his entire life for the past year. Training was the only escape from his own mind and regrets, and Clary. The run from the shadowhunter training center to this cliff is rugged and dangerous, allowing Jace to shut his mind off to the world outside this trail and let the pain consume his body. He needed to feel it, he needed to know that he could still feel.

He reached up and clasped his hands behind his head and let out a longing sigh. This cliff brought him both peace and agony. This place was an escape and a prison, the journey here was treturous, but the arrival was freedom, because this was the only place he could truely find Clary.

Off in the distance, he heard the sound of labored breathing and heavy footsteps trudging up the dirt trail behind him. He turned around with a smirk to meet the face of a very annoyed-looking Alec. "Glad you could join me, I thought you gave up and went home!" Jace jested at his exhausted parabatai.

Alec raised his index finger, though he considered using another as the more appropriate response to his brother, up at Jace as he bent with his hands on his knees and caught his breath. He had also taken his white t-shirt off at some point during the run, and was using it to wipe away the sweat that was pouring off his face and dripping down through his dark patch of chest hair. Alec stood and met the eyes of his brother, "What happened to a light jaunt?" he heaved. "What's going on Jace?", raising both hands in the air, quirking that one eyebrow that always shoots up when he is annoyed or worried, or both in this case. "I have never seen you take off like that, diving over logs and vaulting over those huge gorges without a care, are you trying to break your legs today? Where is your head at?"

Jace didn't respond, he just turned away from Alec and back to the scenery ahead of him. Staring out at this emotional sanctuary where he had been able to close himself off from everything for the past year, but the safety this place provided was beginning to crumble more and more every day as their time here was coming to an end. Soon he would have to face up to what he did and who he did it to.

Alec sighed louder yet, "Jace!," he shouted! He watched as the glaze over Jace's eyes cleared and his mind came back to present. Alec had been watching his brother become more unstable and distracted lately. From his constant brain-fog, severe agitation whenever someone asked if he was excited to return home to New York, to his newly acquired fury when it came to training, Alec knew something was eating away at Jace. "Is this about Clary?" he asked carefully.

"Is what about Clary?," Jace snapped.

"Oh I don't know Jace," Alec snarled, annoyed at Jace's avoidance, "Maybe this change in your attitude, or the fact that just this week you have broken numerous bones in 3 other shandowhunters during brawling, or maybe your complete lack of care for your own safety, I mean more than usual. I have never seen you this reckless before! Something is bothering you and it appears to be getting worse the closer we get to going back to the Institute. You don't have to talk to me, but you need to deal with whatever it is that is eating at you before you do something too stupid for me to fix!"

Jace let out a laugh at that. "Okay Doctor Alec. I had no idea you were taking up psychology! Any other pearls of wisdom you wish to bestow upon me oh wise one," his voice oozed with sarcasm.

Stepping forward, tilting his head slightly to the side to look down into his parabatai's eyes, searching for an answer with concern, Alec put a hand on Jace's shoulder. "Look, I don't know what happened between you two before we left, and you have done a damn good job of avoiding it since we came here, but you're going to have to deal with it when we get back."

"You don't think I know that!" Jace burst out. He jerked away from Alec's reach and turned back toward Alicante, folding his hands across his chest. Jace knew there was probably a lot of turmoil headed his way, he had buried all of his emotions so deep he had hoped that he would never uncover them, but the nearer the trip home came, the more those emotions kept creeping into his soul. A typhoon of feelings was headed his way, he had hoped that he could maintain his cool, stoic outward appearance, but just the thought of Clary set a new crack in his wall. He let out a sigh. Staring out at the magenta skyline, _sunsets were the most beautiful when he watched them with his arms around Clary_. "I don't know what to say to her." He looked down and stared at his boots, praying his brother would have an easy answer for him.

Once again, Alec placed a supportive arm on Jace's shoulder, giving him a little shake of assurance. Alec looked out over their home for the past year. "Just tell her what your heart needs her to know."

"Mr. Sensitive," Jace smirked, "You have been spending too much with our fluttery Magnus," batting his eyelashes at his brother.

With a shove, Jace toppled forward a few paces. He turned around to see Alec's eyebrows raised and a finger pointing at his chest. "You're just jealous that my boyfriend can portal here when he pleases. It's a good change of subject Jace, but you really do need to get yourself together," he sternly spoke. "So I'll meet you down at the house, I still have some packing to do before we leave," and with that, Alec turned on his heels and jogged back down the path.

As annoying as his brother was, he was right, though Jace would never let him know that. As he stared out at the vast hues of reds, oranges, and pinks steadily turning to purples, blue-violets, and midnight blues, his brain took him away. Why had he left her that night? They had had the perfect night, he was ready, she was ready, they were more than ready to be together. Why had he returned all of Clary's letters to her unopened? All she wanted was answers. Magnus had colorfully explained the torment that he had caused his beloved Clary, which he tried to brush off to others when it literally tore his heart out from behind his sternum. Why had he avoided all of Alec and Isabelle's questions and pleas to talk to Clary? It was just that simple, all he needed to do was talk to her and explain everything, but why was that so hard for him? He has never been sure if he had done the right thing, it felt wrong since the moment he had made the decision to leave Clary in his room, alone and confused. Then the assignment to leave for Alicante came just hours later, and he jumped to leave so fast that he never made the time to explain himself to Clary. Could he even do that? What the hell is he going to say when he sees her again? With a deep groan he rubbed his hands over his face and dropped them to his sides, lifting his head up to the sky, praying for guidance, as he enjoyed the feel of the wind sweeping across his face, neck, and bare back.

Suddenly, his head snapped forward, eyes wide with fear, and mouth set in a firm line. Oh God, what if she has moved on! What if she is in love with someone else now? A giant knot has found its way into his stomach, and it is not from the running. What did he expect though, he left her with no explanation, no sign for hope. But his heart had never let him believe what his brain knew was a possibility. Did he even have hope? Did he want to have hope? Of course he did, she was his entire world, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, but how is he going to fix this? Is it even possible to fix.

"Well, I'll know tomorrow," he whispered on the wind.


	3. Chapter 3: A Mundane Meeting

Jace stepped out of the portal and let out a large sigh as he looked around. He was met with an apartment filled with an array of vibrant colored upholsteries, furniture and art from multiple centuries and continents, historical statues from both the mundane world and the downworld, and of course a very glittery, fantastically overdressed warlock. His gaze rolled over to see Magnus lovingly run a knuckle down Alec's blushing cheek. "You couldn't wait fifteen minutes longer to see your sweetheart and portal us to the Institute, Magnus?" Jace groaned.

"If you think for one moment that I would make my darling Alexander walk all the way here, when I can have the extraordinarily pleasant opportunity to kick you out of my apartment and make YOU walk home," Magnus' glittering cat-eyes flashed towards Jace, "then you think much more highly of yourself than I do, Mr. Herondale." A devious smirk crossed the warlocks lips as he gave Jace a wink and gestured his hand towards the door.

Not wanting to hang around for the upcoming events in that apartment, Jace gave his parabatai a farewell nod, hoisted his black dufflebag over his shoulder, and headed toward the door.

"Good luck man." Alec called, looking over his shoulder at Jace, while never taking his clasped fingers from his boyfriend's hand.

Without a word, Jace closed the door behind him, and walked briskly away as he heard the muffled giggles of Alec from the apartment behind him. He entered the elevator and pressed for the bottom floor. He leaned against the elevator wall with one hand in the pocket of his dark-wash blue jeans, the other held the strap of his bag at the top of his shoulder, one foot crossed over the other, and stared at the rusted floor of the warehouse elevator. As he stood there, overwhelmed with his own thoughts, he couldn't help but notice the sweat dripping down his back, dampening his white T-shirt. It wasn't until he realized that the elevator door had already opened and closed again that he snapped out of his trance and pressed the door-open button and headed down the hall towards the street. Dragging his hand through his dampened hair, he tried to calm his nerves. "I can do this" he mumbled quietly to himself. _'Yes, it's just Clary! She knows me. She will understand everything, once I explain it to her, tell her how much I love her and missed her. Yeah_ ," he silently nodded to himself.

He was 5 blocks from the Institute when he finally looked up from the sidewalk in front of him. Jace stood there on the street corner, looking up at the city's buildings that surrounded him. As much as he enjoyed the fresh, open air of Idris and being so close to more nature than what Central Park provided, he knew that this was his home. He had missed the busy streets and dark alleyways where monsters crept in the night. The adrenaline that ran through his veins, knowing that anything could jump out at him at any moment, was electric. He lifted his head up, closed his eyes to the misty-rainfall, and took in a deep breath of city air. He let out his breath with a sigh, pulled up the collar of his leather jacket and stepped off the curb into the street. "Shit!," he shouted, as he lifted his now soaked foot out of the puddle he just placed it in.

His hearing sharpened as grunts and growls pierced through the usual city noises. He jerked his head towards the alley across the street on the next block, and took off at a sprint, seraph blade glowing in hand. He rounded the corner, past the dumpsters and skidded to a hault at the scene in front of him. There she was, his red-headed goddess, back to back with Izzy as they were surrounded by _'2...4...8'_ Ravener demons. Before he knew what was happening, he had dropped his bag and was slicing his way through the mass of demons. He slid down across the wet gravel atop the pavement, slicing off the legs on one side of a demon, then driving his blade through another's cluster of eyes, cracking through its black-scaled skull with a crunch. He stood and turned to face one of the demons that was climbing up over a rusted, brown dumpster towards him. It leapt through the air, claws wide and aimed for his own head, he ducked to the left and drug his blade deep through the demon's belly, spilling black ichor onto the pavement. He turned just as another Ravener leapt off the wall above him. With a bright blue flash, he lifted his blade to slice the head off another demon, ichor splattering across the brick walls. He spun and barrel-leapt over the back of another demon, narrowly missing a well-aimed snap of its scorpion-like claws. He landed in a crouch, tossing his blade to the other hand, and drove his blade through its side. He spun around on his knees, arms spread wide, his seraph slicing through the jaws of one demon and through the ribs of another, and the 2 burst into a flash of orange sparks and disappeared into dust. He stood and stalked towards his first victim as it slowly limped away on its remaining legs, dragging its body with all its might, only to be pathetically going in circles. Jace swiftly raised his blade and crushed it through the Ravener's skull, and twisted as he pulled it back out.

Jace was wiping the demon blood off his blade and onto his jeans when he noticed the burning sensation at the back of his head. He lifted his head and slowly, turned around to meet an astonished looking Izzy and an irritated looking Clary. _'Great_.' he thought.

"Well so much for a good hunt tonight," Clary scoffed at Jace. She put her blade back into its sheath, then placed a hand on her hip as her other hand pulled her hair back over her shoulder. "I see you're back Jace. How was Idris?"

Jace couldn't help but notice the contempt in her voice, but tried to ignore the jolt of pain that her tone of voice caused him. "It was boring," Jace shrugged. "None of the new recruits were much of a challenge for me to train with, so most of my time was spent teaching them instead of training with them." He raised his eyes to meet Clary's, and hers bore right back into his, unwavering, searing deep into his soul. He was taken aback by her intensity, luckily Izzy broke the tension.

"Yeah, thanks Jace!," Izzy scolded, "So much for trying out my new whip tonight!" She stomped towards him in her black, snake-skin thigh-high boots, looking as though she was going to smack him, but embraced him in a hug instead. "It's good to see you brother! Welcome home!" She released him and gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. "But I have not missed you hogging all of the fun," she said with an eye-roll as she turned and walked away.

Clary turned on her heels and locked elbows with Izzy as they walked off together towards the Institute, without a word to Jace.

Jace let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he watched the girls walking away. _'Well that went better than I thought it would_ ,' he thought to himself. He quickly began to walk towards the Institute, making sure to stay a good distance away from the girls as to not draw any negative attention that could be lingering between them. He couldn't help himself, he gazed at Clary's figure as she walked in front of him. It was nearly pitch black in the alley, but with the street lights, he could now see her more clearly. She had changed since he left. She seemed leaner, though her hips and shoulders seemed to be curvier. Maybe a bit taller, though for Clary that isn't very tall anyways. She was wearing tight black pants, thigh-high shiny leather stiletto boots, a skin-tight dark-maroon T-shirt, a leather jacket, and her gear belt that held her blade and throwing knives. She looked so hot, he wished she didn't have so many clothes on so he could closely see any changes to her body. All he wanted in the world is to run his fingers through her long red hair again, God how he missed the smell of her hair, her neck, and the rest of his favorite parts of her body. But from her reaction to him in the alley, this may be as close to her body as he will ever be. He shook his head to clear those thoughts, and looked up to see the giant towers of the Institute, he stopped and stared like it was his first time here.

Clary had rushed through the doors, and Izzy turned around in the entrance of the intricately adorned doors to look at Jace, "Hey, you going to sleep out here or come inside," she teased.

Jace smiled for the first time in days, he had missed Izzy and their banters. "Oh definitely out here if it saves me from being exposed to your insufferable snoring Iz," Jace jested as he climbed the stairs and held the door open to his sister wearing a stupid grin on his face.

Isabelle glared at him, stomped on his foot with a stiletto heel, and seethed, "I do not snore!" at him. She turned and followed after Clary to the elevator.

The elevator dinged, the metal doors opened, and the 3 of them filed into the small metal box. Just as they were about to close, a hand shot into the gap between the doors, and 5 other Shadowhunters crowded into the elevator. Jace, Izzy, and Clary shuffled back towards the back of the ancient elevator. Jace pressed his back against the side wall, and heard a sharp intake of breath as Clary's arm brushed his chest. He looked down at her, but she looked away in the opposite direction. He could see the blush creeping up the ivory skin of her neck. He had longed for a year to be this close to her again, in private, but he would take what he could get. He furrowed his brows when he noticed her scent was different, he had always loved that she naturally smelled like sweet pea flowers and sunlight. Now her scent engulfed his senses, he felt the sensuality spark all the way down into his finger tips, the perfume she wore now was more mature, more alluring. He craved it, yet he longed for the scent of the girl he once knew.

The bell dinged and the doors opened to the vast hallway of the dormitory floor. Izzy and the 5 others walked off in different directions. His body stiffened as Clary stepped away from him and into the red-carpeted hallway. He had barely gotten off of the elevator when he saw her rushing into her room, quickly closing the door behind her. He stood there, at the doorway of the elevator, staring at her bedroom door for a while, contemplating. He raised his foot to step toward the direction of Clary's room, just as her door jerked open, and she stepped back out into the hallway. She closed the door behind her and turned away from it, focusing her attention down at her hand while she was finishing wrapping the wristband of a pair of training gloves.

Jace nearly fell backwards when he saw her standing there. She had changed into a black, cropped tank top that gave full view of her small waist and toned torso. She had muscles now, where her girlish "fluff," as Clary used to call it, used to be. She had smoothly rounded delts that lead to her strong biceps. He followed the line that separated her ab muscles from her oblique muscles on her side that lead down to a very small pair of spandex shorts that left little to the imagination, not that he was complaining at all. He followed down her lean legs, noticing the definition in her quads as she stood there. She wasn't bulky at all, but she was fit, and it was so sexy to see.

In the midst of his long, luxurious observation of her newly revealed figure, he suddenly noticed that she wasn't moving. His eyes shot up to meet hers, staring back at him with wide-eyed indifference. Suddenly he felt a heat in his ears as he is pretty sure that he blushed all the way to his toes, and shot his eyes to the floor. 'What is going on with me? I have never been embarrassed in my life?' he thought as his eyes shot to the floor. Quick to end his suffering, he looked up to Clary's face, "Hey Clary, you, uh, going to the training room?" He shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

Clary looked back down as she adjusted her wrist wraps, "Yes, do you need something?," she asked without looking up at him.

Jace looked down at black training glove to avoid staring at her face, "No," he said quietly as he looked back into her beautiful eyes. Jace pulled his dufflebag strap up higher on his shoulder with a heave, just now noticing the bulge that was pressing against his jeans. Clary noticed too.

"Okay then, see you around Jace," Clary uttered quickly and spun on her heels towards the training room, her red hair swaying over her back with each step. Leaving Jace in the hall, staring at the back of her head as she stalked away.

Jace thumped the palm of his hand to his forehead, "Ugghh, that was painful," he muttered to himself. _'Pull yourself together man_ ,' his mind pleaded. He decided at that moment, he couldn't be this sad, pathetic boy, pining over a girl. It is too pitiful and he was better than that. Tomorrow, he was going to put this mood behind him and treat Clary as he would any other Shadowhunter colleague that he loved... ' _Shit_ '.

A.N.: You know it is really hard to not jump right into the really good stuff hen you know exactly where you want your story to go, but you must build the scene I guess. Leave me a review and let me know how its coming :)


	4. Chapter 4: Nothing, but Everything

**A.N.: Sincerest apologies about the long, long delay on the chapter, a lot of life has happened in the last month, but here it is. Finally getting to a little action ;) Also-I do not own the characters of the Mortal Instruments(Cassandra Clare). There is definitely going to be some Lemon chapters within this story, some more explicit than others.**

 **Chapter 4: Nothing, but Everything**

Clary woke up to a tangle of red hair after yet another sleepless night. The sun bore into her room, without mercy into her tired eyes.

She had trained hard for nearly four hours last night, and the 2 nights before, all of her hunts having been ruined by Jace's heroics, she had extra energy to burn. By the time she thought her mind had cleared enough to go to bed, it was 2:15 in the morning. She dragged her burnt-out body back to her room, slipped off her workout clothes and collapsed into her soft, down comforter. Her body was too tired to replay the events of the day, but her mind surely wasn't. She snuggled into her big, puffy pillow, and closed her eyes with a sigh of relief. That was short-lived, as her eyes reopened to her minds constant buzzing. A train of thoughts that continued to rumble through her mind for the majority of the night, tossing and turning in frustration, until exhaustion overtook her.

Now, with dark bags under her eyes, she rolled away from the blazing sunlight and checked the time on her bedside clock. Six in the morning, this would be her usual time to wake up for the day, but with the ridiculous lack of sleep she has experienced since Jace's return, the early hours of the morning have been less than appealing lately.

As she laid in her bed, she knew going back too sleep was no longer an option, she was too awake at this point. So, to get up for the day and go for her morning run, or lay in bed and have some relaxing time to herself... alone with only her comfy bed... and her thoughts. The run it is! There was no way she was spending the day in her bed with her mind on Jace.

After a quick wash of her ivory face, a bit more than her usual application of make up due to her puffy eyes, and a change into her favorite running outfit, she was out the door of the Institute and into Central Park. She began with her warm up stretch at the bench she used to sit at for hours and sketch, when she hadn't a care in the world. She had radiated innocence back then, thinking about it always makes her smirk, how utterly naïve she was.

Clary took off for her usual jog route. She set out at her usual pace, a moderate jog, this way she could focus her mind on her surroundings. This tactic became an important part of her training after Jace left. Jace was always there to protect her from too much harm. She was capable of somewhat taking care of herself, but when things got too intense and dangerous, Jace always stepped in to save the day and keep her safe. Then he left, and Clary found that her defensive abilities were less than efficient. She never realized how unaware of her surrounding she was, and how aware Jace was, until she found herself getting beaten on all sides by a pack of demons. _'Thank the Angel for Izzy saving my butt for those first few weeks post-Jace.'_ That was the first change toward moving on from Jace, to becoming the new Clary, the Clary without Jace. It was a small step, but just focusing all her energy on her surroundings became a complex empowerment. At first it was hard, focusing on her environment only made her focus on Jace. All she saw were the benches where they would kiss in the park, the tree that Jace would lean against while she drew an old couple walking together through the park in the afternoon, his favorite food cart on the street corner, and where they first met in front of Pandemonium. It was torture, but as time went on and Clary channeled her pain and sadness into her training, she began to see more of the world than she had ever before. She began feeling the energy of the world around her, the aura of the people, the heat of their emotions. Every movement began to be noticed without effort, her mind and body had become part of the channel that life vibrated through.

This evolution of her mind transferred into her hunting. Her body could react to an attack before her mind even knew it was coming. Her reflexes were incredible and her body had strength she never knew it could have. It took being broken for her to find herself. It was a tiny shard of hope that meant she might be able to leave her broken self behind and build a new-Clary.

That is when she began to put everything into her training. She started to lift heavier weights, thriving on the pain of the next-day soreness, and it began to replace the numbness that Jace left behind. She began running faster, purposely finding obstacles to leap over and slide under, and after many weeks of tripping and bruising, the obstacles became just another part of the world around her. Through her drive and determination, life became effortless. Her battles with demons were over more quickly, her training with Izzy became a level playing field, if not a little easy, and her heart was steadily sealing its wall.

All her efforts had paid off. She was lean, strong, and fearless because she had nothing left to lose when Jace left. She had no idea when he would return, if he would return. Izzy had told her it would only be a year, but Clary wasn't so sure Jace could stand to be around her anymore. He never spoke to her after that night he left, never responded to her letters, the pleas of their friends, all of her desperate attempts to get forgiveness went unanswered. Jace had moved on and Clary closed her heart.

Clary came upon the bench marking the halfway point of her jog where she stopped to stretch. She checked her clock and sighed as she saw her pace was slower than usual by 4 minutes, and she had almost ran right past her bench while she was so deep in thought about Jace. She lifted her leg onto the back of the bench to stretch her tight hamstrings. _'Jeez, Jace hasn't even been here 24 hours and he is already screwing up my focus,'_ Clary huffed.

Jace came jogging up over the hill at the park back towards the Institute when he came to a sudden halt at the bottom. He was awestruck by the sight in front of him. A leggy girl in tight black Adidas leggings with white stripes down each outer thigh was bent over next to a bench, touching her toes, obviously stretching, or just alluring him. He couldn't help but gawk at the curvature of her plump, toned ass. _'Wow,_ ' he thought, _'I never saw anything like that in Idris. Oh New York, how I have missed you!'_

As he was lusting over this luscious figure, the girl stood up, flipping a bright red ponytail of long curly hair over her head as she pulled one arm over her head with the other. Jace saw her small waist and firm back as her cropped sweatshirt rose up to show a glimpse of a hot pink sports bra. Jace was so entranced with her body that he almost screamed out as she turned around and this mysterious redhead became Clary. He was so fixated on the eroticism of this random jogger's stretching, that he somehow missed the familiar red hair, and not to mention the simple fact that her waist has runes on it.

Their eyes met and Jace, trying to ignore his raging hard-on, began to walk towards her. As he came to stand in front of her, he could smell the sweet scent of the sweat that was running down her neck onto her collarbone. God how he wanted to chase that sweat with his tongue. Then he looked down into her green eyes, he could feel the regret and sadness boiling inside of himself as he noticed how much he missed those eyes.

Jace's voice came out raspy, "Hey Clary," was all he could manage considering what his mind was just focused on.

Clary looked up into Jace's golden eyes, trying to ignore his lack of shirt, _'of course._ ' "Hey Jace, what are you doing here?" Crossing her arms over her chest, putting on her best front. Meanwhile, she felt her body begin to respond to the sight of him with a slight tingle beginning between her legs.

"Just reacquainting myself with the city, and its incredible scenery," he said with a smirk and a quirk of his eyebrow as he gazed at Clary.

Clary gave minimal response to his little flirtation. "Well don't let me interrupt you," she said as she turned around to jog away. Her heart stopped as Jace's hands took hold of her waist. His hands on her bare skin ignited her body, sending jolts of hot lightning straight to her core.

"Clary wait," Jace pleaded, hands on her waist to keep her from jogging off. "Can we talk first?"

Clary spun around and jerked her body out of his hands. "About what?" Her voiced was sharp enough to cut stone. She had to keep that wall up, but every time he touched her body, she could hear the bomb ticking away that would blow her wall to pieces.

The topic was complicated, so he simply responded with a hushed. "Us."

Clary's eyes glared in ignorance. "There is no us Jace," she firmly stated. Then she turned and took off at a near sprint back to the Institute, leaving Jace empty-handed and saddened.

 _'Not this time!'_ Jace took off in a sprint after his goal. _'By the Angel, she got fast!,'_ Jace thought as he picked up his speed to catch her. This not talking would not do, not only for work-purposes, but his heart couldn't bear it. But what was he expecting with how he left things, he just left. No, he had to catch her, had to explain, had to touch her again.

Clary could hear Jace gaining on her, she had forgotten how fast he was, but she is much faster than she used to be and was not about to make it easy for him. She cut into the trees onto one of her more challenging trails that she trained on. Clary hurdled over fallen trees and bounded across boulders hoping to lose Jace. She couldn't face him anymore, she couldn't talk about 'us,' so she pushed harder. Jace's steps and breathing faded from her hearing. She took a quick peek behind her and saw that he wasn't behind her anymore, so she slowed her sprint, turned her head back to the trail, and plowed into Jace's bare chest.

Jace wrapped his arms around Clary, pinning her arms to her side, her sweat-slick body sliding against his bare chest. The more she struggled, the tighter he held her, the harder he got. She thrashed against him, revealing a ferociousness he had never seen in her before, it was as if she emitted fire from her entire body and the angrier she got, the closer he was to being set ablaze.

Jace pressed Clary back against a large oak tree trunk. The bark dug sharply into the skin of her back as she struggled to get out of his grip. The pain of the bark grinding into her back and the feeling of Jace's entire, muscular, pulsing body restraining her was causing her core to throb. She had to get away from him, the strength in her body to resist him was waning.

"Stop Clary," Jace barked, pressing his whole body into hers to keep her from escaping his grasp. "Just stop," he said, more breathless than the last due to Clary's continued fight against him.

"No Jace! I have nothing to say to you! There is nothing between us!" Clary shouted at him. She delivered a swift kick to the shin with all her might.

Jace grunted and cringed back slightly to the pain, but then pressed back against her with full force. "It doesn't feel like there is nothing between us," he growled. "Even so, I need to explain..."

Clary's struggling stopped and they both stood there, chests heaving, their sweat mixing where their bodies touched. "No Jace, you don't. Now let me go," Clary whispered breathily, looking away from his face.

Jace's jaw muscle clenched when he saw the pain deep beneath her anger. He unwrapped his arms from around hers and placed his palms on her cheeks, bringing her face up to his. "Yes I do," he whispered to her.

The fire in Clary's eyes ignited so fast, Jace had no time to respond as her fist made contact just below his ribs. He doubled over in front of her as he sucked in the breath he lost. Clary stepped forward away from the tree, standing tall in front of the gasping man in front of her.

"What do could you say? What could you possibly say to change what you did or why you did it?," she shouted at him. She looked Jace straight in his eyes, speaking with a firm, steady voice to the deepest parts of his soul, as he stood up and looked back at her. "Nothing... there is nothing you could ever say," she spat, "I want to hear nothing from you, because that is what is left of who I was, who we were...nothing."

With inhuman speed, Jace lunged forward, his hand pinning her arms beside her body, crushing her to the tree with his body. Clary gasped just before Jace smashed his lips to hers. He forced his tongue into her mouth with desperate need to make her feel what he felt. Her body was stiff, but her mouth opened to his and for a moment, passion erupted between their lips, vibrating between their bodies. Jace felt his heart explode with the emotions of the last year and tears began to fall from the corners of his eyes. He painfully pulled his lips from hers, gasping for air, the space between their mouths felt like infinity. He took in a deep breath, his eyes looking down into hers.

"There is everything between us," he whispered to her. He could feel her body shaking against his, her round breasts pressed firmly against his chest, rising and falling from her quick, shaky breath. It took every ounce of strength he had not to tear her shirt off right here and take her breast into his mouth, but he couldn't, he had to make things right between them before he would take her and give himself to her. He placed his forehead on her cheek, taking a moment to catch his breath.

Clary noticed Jace's split-second of distraction. "No," she whispered back. In that instant, she threw her whole body off of the tree, sending them both tumbling over a tree root and onto the grass.

In utter shock, Jace completely let go of Clary as he hit the ground flat on his back. Before he knew what happened, Clary was up and running down the trail. Still breathless, he watched her as she disappeared into the woods. He dropped his head into the grass and sighed. _'Well, at least we spoke,'_ he thought, _'maybe we can talk at Pandemonium tonight on the hunt, make up.'_ With another sigh, he picked himself up and walked back to the Institute.


	5. Chapter 5: HunterPrey Confusion

Jace and Alec stood in the entry way of the Institute. Jace was dressed in a white V-neck t-shirt, dark denim jeans, and of course his leather jacket. He was in such a rush to leave for Idris a year ago that he had left it in the heap of clothes he had pulled off the night he and Clary were supposed to finally be together. It had slipped back on as if he had just worn it, if only his relationship would fall into place as easy. Alec's cool demeanor was paired with a dark blue button-down shirt and black denim boot-cuts as he leaned against the wall by the door.

Alec looked over at his fidgety parabatai, "Things with Clary going well, huh," he said with a knowing, crooked smirk.

Jace stopped pacing and took a seat on the bench next to his brother, putting his clasped hands to his lips.

Alec patted Jace on the back. "From everything that you told me, did you really expect her to just fall back into your arms like nothing had happened? But if she loved you like I think she did, with some hard, hard work, and probably a quite a lot of begging, she will come back around," Alec pointed out.

"I don't know man," Jace said, "I have never seen her this cold towards anyone, especially me. I mean, I felt it when I kissed her, but I don't know if she felt it." Jace groaned and leaned back against the bench, running his hands down his face. "I can't read her like I used to, she's... different."

"Yea she is," Alec scoffed, shaking his head, "She may not be my own preference, but the girl got hot! She is not the shy little girl you left that's for sure."

"Well Alec," Jace tilted his head toward his brother, "Does your beloved warlock know about your wondering eyes? Why Alec, I am scandalized!," Jace jested with his best look of sarcastic shock on his face and a hand pressed to his chest.

Shoving Jace on the shoulder, knocking him onto his side on the bench, Alec informed Jace. "Of course he knows, who do you think has been keeping me up to date on everything going on around here, and I do mean EVERYTHING!," he said shaking his head, wide-eyed, at the thought of all he has been told of for the past year.

Jace sat back up, appearing to be very interested in more details, but before he could inquire for more secrets and scandals, the elevator door dinged. Izzy stepped out in full shadowhunter gear with whips in tow. Her eyes lit up as she walked up to the boys.

She joined them with a quick sigh, and her hands on her hips, "You boys sure you're ready to go hunting already? Don't think you'll be too rusty? I wouldn't want to see you get pummeled by a demon, or maybe I do, hmm." She looked at her brothers with a vicious smile, amusement glittering in her eyes.

"Missed you too Iz," Alec smiled and side-hugged his sister, and Izzy returned the hug, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Iz," Jace said, standing up to face his brother and sister, "I know I've been gone for a year, but I don't think demonic tastes have changes that much, you can't expect us to have a successful hunt if our bait is dressed like a shadowhunter."

Izzy turned and tilted her head toward Jace, "Oh dear brother, I'm not the bait." She smiled up at him and nodded her head towards the elevator.

Jace turned around. Clary was standing outside of the elevator, using the hallway mirror to apply a scalding-red lipstick to her pouty lips. She gave one more fluff to her hair before she turned and stalked towards them. ' _Holy Fuck!_ ' She was wearing a deep, emerald green velvet dress. It was a halter top tied behind her neck, with a plunging neck line that almost reached her navel and clung to her luscious breasts. The hem reached just above her knees, and there was a high-slit up each of her thighs. She stood on stiletto black leather boots that made her only a few inches shorter than Jace. Jace knew there was no possible way he was letting Clary out of the Institute dressed like that. He would lock her in here if he had to. ' _Preferably in my bedroom_ ,' he thought. He would be peeling demons and humans off of her all night long, and he would not be able to control his reaction if anyone else touched her very visible skin.

Clary looked up and was taken aback by Jace's obvious-gawk. Usually he is smoother than this, but his lack of emotional control made her laugh.

Jace, embarrassed by Clary's laughter, snapped out of his trance, looked over at Izzy and Alec, who were looking back at him in awe as well. "Nope, no way, this is not happening, just... no way," Jace stammered in his attempt to be forceful. He looked from Izzy to Alec and back again, avoiding Clary's direction. "She can't go out in that, she is supposed to be bait, not a sacrifice," he said, wide-eyed as he gestured to Clary.

Izzy, obviously amused at his response to Clary, teased her brother, "Jace, I have that dress in red, and I have worn it hunting at least a dozen times and you have never complained once."

Clary stepped in the middle of their confrontation-circle, before Jace could respond. "And I don't think I was asking for permission," she stated as she continued on toward the door with a flip of her hair.

Jace looked pleadingly for support to Izzy, who just smiled and laughed, and Alec, who snickered and pointed his thumb toward the exit and turned on his heels, as they both followed Clary out the door. Jace let out a sigh and followed with his feet dragging.

Pandemonium was bumping tonight. The DJ was some famous werewolf from Thailand or something, and had everyone on the dancefloor swaying and jumping to the beats. Jace didn't care about any of that, although he was overly-aware of everything and everyone in the club, he could not tear his eyes off of Clary. She had met one of her 'newer' friends, as in someone she met while Jace was away in Idris, and was dancing, without care, with him. Izzy said that he was a werewolf from New Jersey, Brendan, that she met on a jog in the park and they apparently really hit it off. Jace could see just how well they hit it off from his spot against the bar. Clary had wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands set on her waist, and they spun around and around, as if they were in their very own world together. She would laugh into his shoulder and throw her head back as they danced. Clary looked genuinely happy with him as they danced. Jace had never danced with her, he was always busy with the hunt. He had never in his life wanted to dance with someone more, than he wanted to dance with Clary right now... and punch Brendan in the throat.

Clary came stumbling to the bar with Brendan in tow, holding hands. She was facing away from Jace, he could see her sweat glittering down between her shoulder blades, and disappearing beneath her dress at her low-back. She was leaning in close to talk in Brendan's ear over the bass in the background. Jace casually gave him a once-over. He held her with his hand in the small of her back, and she held him with her hand on his shoulder. He was just a bit taller than Jace was, with auburn hair, and green eyes. Not green like Clary's, but more hazel green, ' _like sewage._ ' He had a lean build, slightly muscular shoulders, _'not as built I am_ ,' Jace thought.

Clary threw her head back in laughter and bumped into Jace. She turned around, still laughing, "Sorry Jace," she said between giggles. Her eyes were glittering with happiness, and that made Jace smile. He wasn't thrilled at the cause of the joy, but was glad to see it. It was also nice, to not be the target of her wrath for the time being. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the two of them that they would not speak about what happened in the park that day, for now, they had to focus on the hunt. Clary ordered a water from the bartender and turned toward the dance floor, leaning back with her elbows on the bar-top, exposing the swell of her luscious, glowing breasts to Jace's attention.

Jace leaned over and spoke loudly, "I'm glad to see you're having fun Clary, but were not going to be able to lure any demons with your friend clearly staking his claim on you on the dancefloor," Jace said, while looking out over the crowd, and taking a sip of his bourbon and ice. He sucked in a breath as the liquor heated through his chest, then looked over at Clary, who was now side-eyeing him.

"No one ever said you couldn't enjoy yourself while hunting Jace," Clary said looking over the crowd, clearly unconcerned with Jace's complaint.

Jace scoffed, "How are you supposed to spot a demon with your eyes glued to that guy?"

Clary turned her head, looking lopsidedly at Jace, "Jealousy isn't a good look for you Jace," she said with a knowing smirk, earning a sneer out of Jace's cool composure. She turned back to the crowd, "Besides," she said, "I already have a target." She tipped her head towards the left of the DJ booth, directing Jace to a demon in the form of a blond, faux-hawked muscle-head with glowing blue eyes.

Clary leaned over to Brendan, standing up on her toes, _'like she used to with him_ ,' putting her hand onto his chest, and spoke into his ear. Jace could feel the blood rushing through his veins as he clenched his fist, and threw back the rest of his drink. Brendan leaned back, winked then hugged Clary goodbye, giving a nod to Jace as he headed past him for the exit.

Jace watched him as he strolled out the door. "Oh no, is it past his bedtime?" Jace sneered at Clary.

Clary rolled her eyes, "Nope, I told him I would stop by his place later," she said matter-of-factly, leaving Jace speechless, and angry, and jealous, and sad, and... Then she turned, set her glass on the bar, and scooped her hands down each side of her haulter-dress adjusting her breasts.

Jace just stared like a fool. If he didn't know better, he would have been sure he was drooling a bit. But he shook it off before Clary looked back up at him.

"Ready to hunt, Jace? It looks like it's just the two of us, I think Magnus, Iz, and Alec went upstairs to the platform. You got my back if I need you?" she asked looking back at Jace through her long lashes as she was stepping away from the bar.

Jace stared down at her, "Always," he confidently said. Clary didn't move any further towards her target, she simply lingered, reading Jace's expression, seeing the confidence and protection in his eyes. And with a nod, she stepped out into the horde of dancers.

-Clary POV-

After dancing my way into the sights of the demon, running my hands up and down my body, giving him my best 'come-hither' gaze, he steps in to join me. We bounce, sway, and grind to the music, letting our bodies get to know each other. He runs his hand up and down my body, sliding the hem of my dress up slightly as he went, pulling my hips firmly against him, and running his nose along my neck. I keep catching glimpses of Jace's eyes, piercing through the crowd, glowing with murder. I think I like this new level of crazy-jealousy he is boiling with! So I run my hand up along the demon's neck and into his hair, tugging gently, earning another firm tug of my hips into his groin. I glance over at Jace who is pale with anger. But I have no time for his feelings, and return back to the monster behind me. When he reaches his fingers under the bottom hem of my dress, I know I have him.

Spinning on my heels, I look directly in his demon-blue eyes, conveying every sultry thought he thinks I am feeling right now, take his hand, and head off the dancefloor to the supply closet without a second-look at Jace. This is my hunt now.

We enter the closet, I close the door behind us and turn to face my prey.

"So little girl," he growls at me, "Now what do you have to give me?" He takes a step towards me, undoing his belt, and staring into my eyes. I look away, let out a little sigh, and wrap my hand into my hair to pull it over my shoulder.

"How about a one way trip to hell?" I ask as I look him straight in the eyes, pulling a dagger from my thigh sheath under my skirt.

His eyes widen as he must have just noticed what I said with the sudden appearance of my runes that were hidden beneath my hair. "A shadowhunter, or should I call you a shadowwhore?" he spat at me. "Damn, I was really looking forward to sticking my dick down your throat too. But I guess breaking that pretty little neck will have to do." He sneered at me before lunging at my neck with his hands.

I dip under his arms, dragging my blade through his shirt and across his ribs as I step behind him. He slams bodily into the door to the closet. "Fuck," he yells as he presses his hand over the slice in his side, looking at the blood dripping down his pale skin. He looks up at me, eyes full of rage, "You're a quick little bitch, so dying quickly shouldn't bother you, not that I care."

"I'll be sure to return the favor," I smirk at him, blade at the ready.

"Say goodnight you... oof." He let out a grunt as the door behind him pushes open into his back, crashing him into me and my dagger into his heart. We both tumble over onto the closet floor into a heap, his full dead weight on top of me. I heard a loud crack before everything went dark...


	6. Chapter 6: Clubbed in the Head

**A.N.: I do not own the characters of the Mortal Instruments(Cassandra Clare), but I like borrowing them.**

 **Chapter 6: Clubbed in the Head**

Clary slowly opened her eyes only to roll them back in pleasure. She was overwhelmed with sensations, the heat and friction between her thighs, the hot breath caressing her collarbone, the silky-softness she had gripped between her fingers, and a painful edge pressing into her outer thigh. She cleared the fuzziness in her vision to look down at the shelf, containing a green mop bucket with those rubber yellow gloves folded over bucket lip, that was digging into her thigh.

The soft whispers of her name spread throughout her collarbone, mingled with sharp pinches of teeth, was what brought her attention back to the activity causing her body to flush and throb. She knew that voice, but she couldn't bring her brain to connect the voice with the person.

She could feel strong hands running up her thighs, pushing her dress higher up her thighs, reaching just to the bend in her hips, where the hands reached below and firmly gripped her bare ass. A groan came from the person belonging to the hands, followed by a thrust of his hard member against her lace thong, pressing her body into the hard surface behind her. Clary threw her head back with a thud against the wall, eyes clenched shut a she let out a high-pitched shutter.

All her focus-training seems to have melted and dripped together into some sort of Jackson-Polluck painting in her brain, swirling and splattering across her mind with the heat of the sensations that are turning her body inside out. The soft kisses and shallow breathing grew into hungry lapping at her skin as he lowered to the skin between her breasts. Clary dropped her hands to the muscular shoulders giving herself more leverage and height to allow her friend to access more of her skin. She dug her nails in deep into the Runes at the top of the his shoulder as his tongue slipped slightly beneath the fabric of her dress, just barely out of reach of her hardened nipple. Clary gripped him harder, turning her head to the side, her back arching as her chest writhed out away from the wall.

Her need was building and the throbbing in her groin was becoming nearly impossible to ignore anymore, when a lone finger slipped beneath her panties to her dripping center, her eyes burst open and her head jerked down to look into a pair of golden eyes swirling with desire.

Clary let out his name on a whisper. "Jace..."

Her mind faded into the darkness again, everything gone but those searing eyes.

 **\- Meanwhile -**

Izzy burst through Clary's heavy bedroom door, followed by Jace carrying Clary's unconscious figure, her arms dangling limply with every step. Her flaming red hair fallen across her face, pieces sticking to her burning skin. Izzy pulled back the black silk coverlet where Jace gently laid Clary into her bed. He brushed the strands off of her forehead and tucked them behind her ear.

"What happened?," shouted Alec as he rushed into the room and Magnus sauntered in behind him. "Did the demon do this to her?," he gestured to Clary's still-form.

Jace looked down toward his own fidgeting-feet, suddenly very interested in the carpet where he stood. With a great sigh, he looked up to meet his brother's eyes, "Well not exactly," he responded rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

"What does that even mean Jace?," Izzy asked as she returned from behind Clary's bathroom door. Ringing the extra moisture out of a damp cloth, the drops dripping onto the hardwood in little 'plunks', walking between Jace and Alec, Izzy sat next to Clary on her bed. She placed the cloth across Clary's forehead and ran the back of her hand down her friend's clammy cheek. Confident that Clary wasn't in immediate danger, Izzy turned to glare up at Jace, impatiently awaiting his answer.

Jace took a deep breath, running his hand down over his clammy face, while lifting his eyes to the ceiling. "I did it to her," he admitted with a loud sigh. He lowered his eyes and was met with three wide-eyed blank stares.

Magnus, ever reliable with a snarky comment... when it's not needed, spoke up. "Mmhhm. Well Jace, I do love a good lovers quarrel, but I think you may have taken this jealously-wounded, Alpha-male thing a bit too far. Perhaps a gift with an apology would have been preferred to knocking her out and dragging her unconscious body from the club. He flittered his sparkly nails indicating us leaving the club. "But maybe I'm just old-school in the wooing process," he smirked as he placed an arm around Alec's waist. Alec turned toward his boyfriend with a smirk, and love in his eyes.

After a moment in their own world together, Alec turned back to Jace. "So what happened Jace?"

With a huff, Jace began his explaination. "Well she was baiting the demon, getting us... I mean him all worked up," he paused as the heat of embarrassment worked its way up his neck. "Then she had him hooked and they went off to the storage closet, so I followed behind as backup. I was waiting outside the door, I could her them talking and he was threatening her with... well it's not important, but I pushed the door open, knocking the demon in the back with the door, pushing him into Clary's blade, causing both him and Clary to fall onto the floor, when Clary hit her head... and..." Jace gestured over to Clary's still-body.

"Shit, Clary is going to be pissed," Isabelle whispered to herself, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Magnus swayed to the side, tipping his hip out. "Yes, she certainly will be," he said with a wide-eyed look of exasperation, "And since she is not in any mortal danger, I do believe my darling Alexander owes me a back massage as payment for our bet." He looked fondly at Alec, while running his fingers through the Shadowhunter's dark locks.

Izzy let out a snort and quickly covered her nose to stop any further outbursts.

Jace looked around the group with an eyebrow raised in question. "What bet?"

"Ehmm," Izzy cleared her throat, still holding her hand at her mouth for a moment to try to smother the shit-eating grin that dominated her lips. "Well Magnus bet Alec that you were going to ruin another one of Clary's hunts, but Alec said that he didn't think you were that stupid as to do it again, and well..." Izzy dropped her red-face towards her lap to hide the ever growing smirk that threatened to leave her lips.

"Well I lost," Alec dryly stated, finishing Izzy's explanation, looking pointedly from Clary to Jace. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and widened his stance.

Magnus slipped his arm through the crook of Alec's arm, and tipped his head to his boyfriend's shoulder. "And my Alexander is an honorable young man that is anything but a sore loser." Alec let out a long sigh. Magnus scrunched up his nose, batted his eyes, and booped Alec on the nose, "Come darling!"

And with an encouraging tug of Alec's arm, they were gone out the door and toward the elevator to leave the Institute.

Without so much as a glance or a word to Jace, Izzy began to take off Clary's boots.

"Um Iz," Jace quietly interjected the silence.

With a ferocious toss of her hair, she glared at Jace. "Look Jace, whatever you think you're doing, just stop. I don't know what all happened between you and Clary when you left, but I do know that you left her behind, broken." She paused to calm herself and continued with a gentler tone. "She is not the same anymore, not worse, but not her whole self anymore. I love her like a sister just like I love you as my brother, but you coming back and thinking that things are going to go back to how they were is really confusing to her. She is proud, and she hasn't told me how she feels about you anymore so I don't know what to tell you. So just shut down whatever it is that you are dealing with right now and help me get her into bed."

"Jeez Iz, tell me how you really feel," Jace snickered. Then he flinched back as Izzy turned her attention, and an approaching right hook toward his gut. "All right, all right Iz, what do you need me to help with?"

"Can you grab me a pair of sleep shorts from Clary's top drawer and a tee shirt from her third drawer, the green Ireland one, she likes that one," Izzy instructed as she began to work the zipper on the side of Clary's dress.

Jace turned and dutifully made his way over to her chest of drawers. Beginning his search for the requested items, Jace opened the top drawer, as per Izzy's instructions, expecting pretty much the opposite of what he found. His eyes grew wide as they feasted themselves upon a drawer full of lacey, dainty underwear in a variety of deep, sultry colors. His gaze roamed across deep-red, sheer cheeky- shorts, to a black silk thong, and some other less-than-covering lingerie. "Holy Fuck," Jace whispered under his breath. He felt suddenly hot, in more ways than one. Before he had left, he knew Clary to be a creature of comfort, with her tank tops and cotton, bikini panties that he found utterly adorable. But these... nothing about this drawer's contents evoked a feeling of adorableness.

"How are those clothes coming Jace?"

Jace started at Izzy's question, hitting his elbow on the edge of the drawer, eliciting a hiss between his teeth. "Yup, coming Iz," he responded and continued his search beyond the erotic fabrics that he would love to hold between his... _'Shit, focus Jace'_ he tried to regain his composure. He ran his hands through the fabrics, searching for a pair of sleep shorts, attempting to ignore his wandering thoughts and half-firm cock, when his fingers ran across something else in her drawers. His brain fizzled then completely short-circuited as his eyes narrowed in on a dark purple viberator. _'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck me! When the hell did Clary get one of those? And how often does she use it? Shit, don't go there Jace man! You will never be able to function for the rest of the night if you go down that road,'_ Jace thought to himself. His desperate desire to use this on Clary was muddling his brain.

Izzy's voice pierced through his personal-struggle. _'Thank the Angel!'_

"Shit Jace, her sleep shorts are in her second drawer," she amended.

Jace slammed the top drawers shut with a bang, jerking open the second drawer and ripping out the pair of shorts on the top of the pile. "Got em," his voice cracking as he held up a dark-blue pair of tiny, silk shorts. He then proceeded on to find her favorite sleep shirt easily enough, his mind still located in that top drawer of hers. He walked over to the bedside, handing Izzy the clothes and stepping back, his eyes still unfocused at the scene before him.

"Jace!" Izzy's voice broke into his fogged brain. He jerked his head up to meet Izzy's deep-brown eyes. "Do you mind?," she raised her eyebrows at him, indicating his appaerent inappropriate behavior.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he turned his back to give the girls some privacy.

"And don't you dare turn your head in the slightest to this direction while I change her or I will stab you myself," Izzy stated.

Jace snorted. He loved his sister's devotion to those she loved. He knew it to be the fire that she drew all her strength from, and knew not to toy with it.

As he waited, his mind wandered to what was occurring behind him. Clary could be naked right this second, in her bed, where she uses her dark-purple... _'Fuuuuccckk!_ ' Jace closed his eyes tight, willing the brain that is located in his pants to just stop running him around in erotic circles.

"Okay Jace, she's decent." Izzy said

He turned back to see Izzy pulling the blankets up around Clary, tucking her in loosely like she likes.

"Jace can you stay with her a minute while I run to my room?" Izzy asked as she was already on her way out to the hallway, assuming the answer.

Jace stood there quietly, staring at Clary's beautiful form, so peaceful in her bed. _'I wonder what she is dreaming about?'_ In this moment, he could see the girl she was before he abandoned her without an explanation. Would he ever be able to tell her why he did that? Would she forgive him? These are the questions that circuited his brain every time he saw Clary. And now he had added more questions that he needed Clary to answer for his mind to be at peace again.

His eyes roamed from her face to her strong shoulders, one of them now revealing 2 new small diagonal scars. Reminding him how different she was now. She could take care of herself, she was forced to learn to take care of herself because he left her. He longed to reach out to her, to enclose her within his arms, protecting her from the dangers of their world once more, and to show her that though she is strong, she is stronger with him by her side. He had to convince her of the truth of that.

Izzy broke into his reflection as she entered the room once again. "Okay, thanks Jace. I'll stay with her tonight."

Jace watched as Izzy padded her way to the other side of Clary's bed. The side he remembered was actually Clary's side of the bed, while Clary currently laid on what was his side of the bed. An ache formed in his gut at the thought. Izzy snuggled herself under the blankets and laid on her side toward Clary to watch over her.

Jace lifted his eyes from Clary's face across to Izzy's. "Are you sure you'll be alright watching her tonight Iz, because I could stay the night in the chair if you're too tired." He tried to hide the hope in his voice, while gesturing his hand toward the recliner in the corner next to the bookshelf.

Lifting her head from the down-pillow, Izzy leaned up onto her elbow and set him with a flat stare. "Jace, I understand that you feel guilty, and I am sure that Clary will expect an explanation of tonight at some point tomorrow. But I am absolutely positive..." she paused for effect. Then continued, "that you are the very last person she wants to see first thing when she opens her eyes."

That, was a knife in Jace's heart. As much as he was sure Izzy was right, hearing the words said out loud was a fatal wound. His shoulders slumped slightly, but he tried to hide his emotions as best he could by turning away from Izzy and heading straight to the door without another word.

"I'm sorry Jace," was the last thing he heard Izzy say before he closed the door and walked down the hall towards his own room.

Walking the short distance to his own room from Clary's, Jace rolled the situation around in his mind. _'Maybe coming back here was a mistake.'_ He deeply considered. At least when he was at Idris, he could pretend that everything at the Institute was fine. Now that he was here, reality was beating the hell out of him. Proving over and over that he should never have left Clary like he had. And he had been trying to talk to her for days, and he at least made a start during their mini-battle in the park during their accidental meeting, but he had only scraped the surface of his feelings. And she seemed to warm up to him a bit after that, _'I think.'_ She was civil with him at the club, until he messed that one up. But there were moments, miniscule flashes of heat between them. In the elevator, at the park, in the club, and glances in between where he could feel something between them. It was tiny, but he knew if there was a flicker of flame, a blaze could be possible. And he wanted that, being here again, seeing her, especially this strong, independent version of her, he wanted to be engulfed in the inferno that is Clary. He just needed to know how she felt, to know that he wasn't alone in these desires.

It was his fault she hid behind this fortress she built, and it would have to be him that forced her out from behind its walls and into his arms. Hopefully...

 **A.N.: Love reading comments! I can't wait to complete the next chapters. Hope you are all enjoying this journey.**


	7. Chapter 7: Point Made

**Chapter 7: Point Made**

Her nerves were crackling across her body. From the silky feel of the satin sheets down her back, the pressure of the fingertips at her waist, the firmness of the long muscle of the thigh edging itself between her own thighs, the prickle of facial hair rubbing along her jaw as sharp breathes tickled across her neck. Her pulse thundered through her ears and she curled her toes into the sheets as a wet tongue delicately traced its way down her neck to her collar bone. The intensity was becoming too much as her body certain parts of her body screamed for friction. She arched her back, her heart and body pulling toward this hurricane of feelings, unable to pull away. Clary clenched her fingers in the silken-locks, holding on with all her might to keep from being swept up in the tides rolling out from deep within her heart. Her eyes fluttered closed as the determined, yet gentle tongue was moved its way over the slope of her breast, mere centimeters from her sensitive, aching nipples. A shaky exhale blew over her skin, erupting her chest and arms in goosebumps, drew her attention down, where her eyes met a pair of golden eyes, sparkling with mischief and adoration. His tongue slipped back out between his teeth and his head eased back towards her breast, and she finally got to feel...

Clary woke with a start. Sweat glistened across her face after a night of hot and heavy dreams clouding her brain and body with lust. Jace was in the forefront of her thoughts and a dull pain was at the back of her head. She raised her hand and gingerly touched the back of her head, wincing as she felt a sizeable goose-egg underneath her riotous, mass of curly red hair.

Her anxiety skyrocketed, noting her lack of wardrobe, as she attempted to recall last night, blurry pieces of the scenes at the club whirled around, not coming to a clear conclusion. The last thing she remembered was the words of the demon in the club _'You're a quick little bitch, so dying quickly shouldn't bother you, not that I care.'_ Then nothing.

But her worries eased as she noticed Izzy, rolled on her side, sound asleep next to her in bed, with a hand draped lazily over Clary's leg. Clary felt the warmth bloom from her heart at the sight of the mop of dark, morning-after-clubbing-curls completely covering her best friends face. Izzy had been her lifeline when everything with Jace fell apart. Nights and days were spent with Izzy dragging Clary here and there, keeping her mind from the darkness that chased her soul after her heart shattered. No matter how hard everyone tried, no one had been able to pull Clary out of her depression, but Izzy had done it without even trying.

It started when Izzy began to show up wherever Clary was, she would sit down next to Clary, and start to read a book. Izzy's arm would be slightly touching Clary's, but she wouldn't say a word. She never did. Sometimes Clary would silently stare off into space, deep in thought. Sometimes her thoughts were too much for her to keep inside and she would collapse across Izzy's lap into a stuttering heap of tears, Izzy would switch her book to the other hand and run her fingers through Clary's hair, an offer of comfort, but not a forced intrusion. This went on for weeks until Clary began to seek out Izzy as well.

The first time Clary came to find Izzy, she was standing in her closet surrounded by a graveyard of rejected outfits, which morphed into Izzy dressing Clary and dragging her arm and arm out of The Institute and to the movies, where Izzy sat reading her book while Clary watched the film. Izzy had managed to get Clary to enter the outside world, but into a situation where Clary was with people without actually 'being' with people. Izzy slowly and gently brought sunlight back into Clary's life. Izzy was the tape that pieced Clary back together. The love Clary had for Izzy now was more than she ever thought she could feel as a child raised without siblings. _'Well siblings she knew about at the time at least.'_

Clary reached over and pushed the mass of hair out of Izzy's face, causing her ever-enchanting friend to grunt and rollover, sticking her butt out to nudge into Clary's leg. With a snort and an amused smirk, Clary crawled out of her bed and headed into the bathroom to assess the situation her reflection would reveal. Ten minutes later, Clary left her bathroom fresh-faced and hair into a messy-bun atop her head. Another glance at Izzy slumbering peacefully in her bed, and Clary headed out into the hallway toward the kitchen.

 **\- Jace's POV-**

Jace was rubbing the sleep from his eyes with both hands as he shuffled into the kitchen. Dropping his hands to his sides, his eyes were assaulted with a cock-stiffening sight, which has been a re-occurring event for the past week since he got back. His eyes widened at the luscious cheeks, pressed against the marble countertop, that peeked out from beneath the tiny silk shorts she had slept in. God how he wanted dig his fingers into the round-firmness of her ass as he pinned her up against the wall with his naked body.

After the events of the night before and his revelations about Clary, he had decided that if he could win her heart once, he could do it again. But he couldn't treat her as the sweet, innocent girl she was when they first met, because she wasn't that anymore. He needed to treat her as the alluring, confident woman she was now. So he needed to stop acting like a heartsick boy and start acting like a man, earning back the heart of the other half of his soul. Plus, he thought it was time that he wasn't the only one sweating and panting every time he was in the same room as Clary.

Quickly removing his shirt and tossing it behind a pillow on the kitchen nook's bench, he crossed the kitchen and turned his attention into the fridge. Taking his sweet time looking into every nook and cranny of the fridge, being sure to bend over to check the very bottom drawers before taking a breakfast sandwich and a sports drink out. He turned around to meet a pair of green eyes. His heart skipped a beat at the beauty shining out at him as rays of sunlight coming through the kitchen curtains sparked the jungle of green hues staring back at him. _'Focus Jace!'_ he thought, bringing himself back to the present.

Jace blinked, then looked down to his bare feet. "Hey Clary." _'Wow, great opening line, sure to make her swoon.'_ he rebuked himself.

"Morning." She said simply, returning her attention back down to her bowl of oatmeal in her lap.

 _'Hmm, she didn't sound angry,'_ he thought, but he wouldn't be fooled into false hope. He expected to feel her wrath in the very near future. So he turned and continued on with preparation of his breakfast. The awkward silence radiating off of Clary was a promise of the firestorm to come, _'he expected nothing less from this little firecracker'_ , he thought with a smirk. Finally, after the microwaved dinged, signaling the readiness of his sandwich, he turned around and took a bite of his sandwich as he leaned back against the counter directly across from the one Clary was sitting cross-legged on top of.

Jace chewed his bite, letting his eyes slowly and obviously roam from her bottom up until he reached her eyes. After a moment of eye contact, the little vixen slowly and obviously let her own eyes roam down his body then back up to meet his eyes. _'Oh this could be fun,_ ' Jace mused and swallowed heavily.

Clearing his throat, pulling a smirk from Clary's lips as she dropped her eyes back to her bowl, Jace began to speak. "So I'm sure you're mad about last night and want an explaination."

"Yea Jace that would be great." Clary said in a soft voice, not even a hint of anger. _'What?'_

Jace quickly ran Clary through the events of the prior evening, tactfully skipping the part where he stumbled across her grown-woman items in her dresser drawers that had given him fantasy-worthy material to take to bed with him, not wanting to give her more even ammo for the imminent attack. He hardened himself in preparation for the lashing he was about to get from Clary.

Clary slid a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth, chewed, then swallowed as she looked off in thought. Then she met his eyes with a slight smile. "Well that explains the bump on my head I guess, I'm glad the demon didn't get away anyways." Then she returned to her oatmeal.

Jace just stared at her, waiting. He must have been staring for a while before he realized that Clary was staring back at him, spoon halfway to her mouth. She lowered the spoon slightly, an eyebrow raised.

"Jace, you ok?"

Jace flinched slightly as his brain re-started. "Wait! What? You're not mad at me?," he gawked.

Clary's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would I be mad at you?" she eyed him carefully as she chewed her oatmeal.

"Well, I kind of ruined your hunt," Jace sighed, "again." His mouth curved down with his guilty expression as he ran his hand across the nape of his neck. "And then I kind of hit you in the head with a door and knocked you unconscious when you hit the cement floor."

Clary studied his expression for a moment longer than necessary, but she liked to see him squirm. She could clearly see that he had had good intentions when he barged in on her kill, and could see how guilty he felt about it. So she took a moment to just look at him in his eyes, those eyes filled with a whirlwind of emotions, the eyes that could wake emotions in her own self so easily. She immediately looked back down to her oatmeal, hoping her thoughts hadn't broadcasted across her face before she got herself under control again. But Jace saw it.

After a moment of silence, Clary spoke again. "Nope, not mad. Annoyed," she tossed a glare to him, "but not angry Jace. I don't waste my time on such unimportant things anymore."

Jace appreciated the new level of maturity Clary had grown to have. Once again, she has shown him the woman who knows her own mind and doesn't waste her time on trivial little spats. Not only was it sexy as hell, but it also saved him from a serious ass-chewing the old Clary would have so willingly given him.

They finished their breakfasts in companionable silence. Each sneaking momentary glances at the other. Then Clary hopped down from her perch on the countertop, her bare-feet making no sound as she walked her way to the sink. Setting her bowl in the silver basin, she turned the tap on to rinse it out, when she felt a heat rise up her spine. Then she felt fingers brushing against the sensitive skin below the crease of her butt cheek. Her eyes widened with shock for a moment before she reacted. She swiftly spun herself around, grabbing Jace by the arm. Pulling his wrist out with one hand and pressing down his elbow with her other forearm as she slammed his face onto the countertop, immobilizing him.

"Seriously Jace?," she fumed. "I said I wasn't mad about last night, I never said anything about not being INFURIATED about your behavior prior to that!" She pressed down on his elbow for emphasis, and Jace cringed in pain. "I thought we had finished this conversation in the park, but obviously you need a reminder," she spat, pressing down a bit more.

Jace turned his eyes to the side to look into Clary's scorching eyes. "I know what you said Clary," he spoke clearly, wanting his words to pierce through the wall around her heart. "But I also know what I felt, and I think you felt it too."

"I told you there is nothing between us anymore, what don't you get about that Jace?" Clary threw herself back in frustration, letting go of her stronghold on Jace, allowing him to turn around and cradle his arm. She let out a ragged breath. "By the Angel, Jace, I thought we could work together again, or at least be civil with each other, and I was willing to try, but it is obvious that you cannot handle that! I gave you a chance, a tiny opportunity to be in my life in the only way you can be, and you screwed it up! Just because I am civil, or nice to you, doesn't mean that I consider you a friend again, and it certainly doesn't mean that you get to feel me up! My God Jace, seriously!?"

When Clary finally paused for breath, she saw Jace's smirk.

"Sorry Clary, but the display I had to appreciate during breakfast was quite stirring," he reached down and adjusted his pants for emphasis, "and your skin looked so soft. I needed to feel that luscious body of yours." The truth to his words burned from his eyes, which only infuriated Clary more.

"I have had enough of you touching my body Jace..."

"I'll never have enough," Jace cut her off in a stern voice, stepping directly in front of her, his bare chest caressing her breasts through her sleep shirt. He took a deep breath, relishing in their closeness. He was about to continue when... "Ooof," he doubled forward at the fist that drove into his stomach. 'Man she was good at those sneak attacks.'

Clary continued, not moving an inch from Jace's heaving body. "You should have thought of that a year ago Jace. Don't make mistake my kindness for an invitation again or I'll do worse next time."

She turned on her heel and left the kitchen and Jace behind. Jace eased back upright, leaning over onto the counter for support. After a moment, he straightened up and walked out of the kitchen. _'It will be worth it,'_ he thought.

 **A.N: I have finally reached the point I wanted to be before things get Goooood, if you know what I mean.**

 **-FieryDaisy: yes, Clary was dreaming. The heart always has a way of reminding the brain what it really wants, whether we want it to or not :)**

 **Keep the comments coming, it reminds me to get my act together and write more!**


End file.
